As my brethren bemoaned the death of their institutions (traditional publishing and print media) I quickly realized that writing (and reading for that matter) were not dying arts but rather being re-imagined in a new realm, one to fit the needs of this generation. I got my certification in SEO and hit the ground running in the new world of social media (quickly becoming a go-to-gal for advice.) I didn’t do this to change my career track from writer to Web 2.0 Guru, but rather to better serve the emerging needs of the new medium.

I want to write. People want to read and learn and share — online, in real-time. As a writer there is nothing more exciting than researching and learning something new, digesting it and reformulating it for an audience in a way that is entertaining and informative. By ghostwriting, I get to explore different voices, tones and topics. I get to learn something fresh everyday and I get to share my words (and what I learned) with the world, hopefully in a way that helps someone else pursue their goals.

For me, the question of ethics here is a funny one. Every layman nowadays knows the term social media marketing and most understand that this realm includes blogging. Now, there are firms all over the country that are providing, not only copywriting services (such as ghost blogging) but integrated marketing campaigns that include status updates, discussions and tweets.

This is a world that has merged creatives, marketers, computer nerds and even journalists

No one expects that the CEO of Old Spice was penning the words tumbling out of Isaiah Mustafa’s mouth, nor did they believe that Isaiah himself was responding to those tweets (via Youtube) unscripted. That’s because we all understand the world of marketing. Not everyone is creative enough to come up with these types of entertaining concepts, that is why many companies hire marketing firms to come up with compelling or entertaining content to advertise their brand.

Blogging has become a hybrid. No longer are blogs just a place to share your opinions or insights, they have become a strong marketing tool – increasing your Google juice, establishing expertise and a pulpit from which to preach your brand’s message.

But what if you’re not a great writer? What if you’re the kind of person who is better at doing your business than talking (or writing) about it? What if you just plain hate writing? You outsource to someone like me.

And it would serve you well to do so. Because the clients I work for, fully control their message. They send me topics and links and I get to know their voice and opinions and what sites they find to be credible. Their message goes out – and it IS theirs but it is the best version of their message – a polished, well-researched, engaging, keyword-peppered, linked, optimized, typo-free and grammatically correct message.

My clients hire me because they may be experts in their chosen field but they are not experts in writing, blogging, SEO or social media.

Just because you’re not a plumber doesn’t mean you have skip fixing that overflowing toilet. You can outsource it to someone who is qualified to fix it on your behalf and you’re not required to post a sign in your yard saying that someone else fixed your toilet. Because no one will call your ethics in to question for not being an expert on everything.

(BTW- Thanks for giving me a new blog topic for http://www.play-onwords.com)

A new term for me GhostBlogging

Still can’t decide it’s wrong or right and why

que podemos decir del #GhostBlogging: [link to post] … es mas las intenciones que pueden existir detras. Juzguen uds

– Posted using Chat Catcher

1: Book publishing, where something is flagged as Author with Ghost-/Co-writer (here I’m thinking of some of James Patterson and Tom Clancy’s stuff; both come up with plots and essentially farm them out to other individuals to flesh out the details) or an “As Told To” (c.f. The Autobiography of Malcolm X, for instance, which was “told to” Alex Haley)

2: Your typical newspaper or magazine, where writers might be assigned to cover a particular topic or story. Many of the ideas covered would typically be assigned by an editor.

Here’s the rub: in both of these instances, you could easily argue that the idea originates with someone else. However, the final product carries the author’s name on it, either in conjunction with the originator or on its own.

Of course, I think there’s a relatively easy way around this, though not as personal. If a newspaper runs an editorial, it’s usually unsigned. Someone, clearly, is writing with the newspaper’s “voice,” and assumed assent. If you’re just publishing in the name of the company, and not as a voice that may or may not belong to an individual listed, I’d imagine that the “ghosting” issue falls by the wayside.